John Edwards scandal: separation was 'extraordinarily sad'

John Edwards, the former Democratic presidential candidate, has said he still cares deeply about his wife despite the couple's separation following his extramarital affair.

John Edwards with his wife ElizabethPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

7:00AM GMT 28 Jan 2010

"It is an extraordinarily sad moment, but I love my children more than anything and still care deeply about Elizabeth," Mr Edwards said in a statement.

A friend of Elizabeth Edwards, who is suffering from cancer, confirmed that the couple had separated. Elizabeth's sister, Nancy Anania, said that she remains strong.

"She's doing as well as you could expect," ms Anania said. "I'm really proud of her that, somehow, she's got strength that you rarely see in a person."

The statements come as a former aide to Mr Edwards prepares to release a tell-all book that gives an unflattering portrait of the couple and the tumultuous relationship they tried to maintain after he first acknowledged his affair on the campaign trail. It also comes one week after John Edwards finally made a public declaration that he fathered a child, now almost 2 years old, with his mistress.

It's another wrenching twist for a couple that had previously weathered the death of a 16-year-old son and her ongoing battle with incurable cancer.

They were law school sweethearts who got married just days after they took the bar exam together in the summer of 1977. Though Mr Edwards later went on to make millions as a trial lawyer, the couple had humble beginnings: He had to borrow money from her parents for a one-night honeymoon. She always wore her $11 wedding ring. For years they spent their anniversaries going to Wendy's, just as they did on their first one.

Former aide Andrew Young initially claimed that he fathered the child with John Edwards' mistress in the weeks leading up to the crucial presidential primaries. John Edwards publicly declared last week that he was the father of the child with Rielle Hunter, who worked as a videographer before his second presidential campaign in 2008.

Mr Young's upcoming book details how Mr Edwards went to great lengths to hide the affair. In excerpts from an ABC News interview, Mr Young said that Mr Edwards asked him to find a doctor who might fake a paternity test and asked him to steal a nappy from the baby to determine whether it was really his. He also claims that the married couple sought to politicise her cancer diagnosis.

The statement released on behalf of Elizabeth Edwards said she will not engage in a dialogue on "false charges" in the book.

"Based on the limited portions of the book that have been made available, it is clear it contains many falsehoods and exaggerations," she said. She responded to one point, saying the suggestion that she capitalised on her cancer is "unconscionable, hurtful and patently false."

Elizabeth Edwards has an incurable form of cancer that returned in 2007 as the couple was campaigning for the presidency. She said last week that her health got worse for a period but has been recently improving.

John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate, has largely stayed secluded since first admitting the affair in August 2008. He denied fathering a child with Ms Hunter at that time. He has acknowledged a federal investigation into his campaign finances.